It’s a Terrible Time to Relocate for a Job. Or Is It?

Home prices keep falling, fewer employers pay relocation costs, and company layoffs dominate the news. It all suggests staying put is the best move right now. But, surprisingly, for some people, it may actually be a good time to relocate.

Ultimately, It’s about You

Like so much in life, relocation depends on your circumstances as well as how motivated you are to make a change.

Have you been offered a job that seems like an ideal opportunity? Is it in a place you’ve always wanted to live? Are you willing or even eager to make a new start in a different community?

If you answered yes to all these questions, relocating for a job may be for you.

Still, if you’re a practical person, like most single-minded women, you probably have several concerns holding you back from jumping at the job offer.

Ye Olde Homestead

For many people today, a major issue related to relocation is real estate. As the housing market has declined, so too has the principle asset of a lot of Americans. Whether you can move may be tied to whether you can sell your house.

At one time, it was fairly common for companies to pay relocation costs, and it generally went beyond paying for a moving van. For high-level positions, relocation packages often included companies buying employees’ houses or brokering home sales.

Except for the most senior-level positions these kinds of arrangements have gone by the wayside for the simple reason that companies don’t want to be in the real estate business, particularly in a housing market that still hasn’t bottomed out.

What does this shift mean to you? Basically, that unless you’re being courted for a CEO position, housing is your issue to resolve.